Pets
The Week In Pictures #643 – Londolozi Blog
[ad_1]
This week we enter my favourite month of the year, and the sightings have not disappointed me. With a recent stint of some quality good rain, the fauna that was starting to fade into autumn colours has once again bounced back into abundant greens. Beautiful sunny blue skies, magical African sunsets, migratory birds lapping up the last of the heat, and young impala lambs showing the start of their horn growth – it just can’t get any better. Don’t be fooled, however, there is definitely a nip in the air on those early morning starts!
As I’m sure you’ve seen – The Nkoveni Female has cubs! Along with the Ximungwe Female, we are spoilt as always with leopard viewing, and we just can’t get enough of having five leopard cubs around. Seeing three cubs together was a first for me, and exciting times lie ahead in and around the Maxabene River as we continue with the habituation.
The southeast of the reserve has been a hotspot of activity in the last week, as these two leopards, and the Kambula Pride have spent a large portion of the week in the clearings, trailed closely by hyenas on many occasions.
There have been numerous sightings of no fewer than three different packs of wild dogs (again, absolutely spoilt!). The Ntsevu Males have been announcing their presence by both scent-marking and roaring close to camp on many occasions, and we wait with bated breath watching what their future has to hold.
Elephant bulls have been numerous, as have birds of every colour, shape and form – and as previously mentioned, the sunsets! Large grazing herds of zebra and nyala bulls are making the most of the last sprouts of green before we truly enter into winter.
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week in Pictures…
Beautiful blues skies, green leaves and the stark red necks of a family of Southern Ground hornbills as they ascend into the trees to roost for the night.
One of the three cubs from the Nkoveni Female peers down at us from the safety of the branches. Already at this age, the cubs are exploring their soundings and learning the safety of the tree tops. The relaxed nature of their mother seems to be rubbing off on the cubs, and we look forward to continuing the habituation process.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
U
Spotted this leopard?
You’ve seen this leopard
87 sightings by Members
A cub pauses briefly while chasing its siblings across a branch, allowing us to soak in the innocence of those eyes! At this age, they are bundles of fur and energy, making every glimpse of them truly special.
As the sun dipped below the Drakensberg mountains, Ranger Dan Hirschowitz positioned his guests perfectly amidst the chaos of a wild dog sighting. Approaching the water, the dogs were understandably nervous.
Perhaps the reason for this being my favourite time of the year, you just can’t beat the sunsets. This large elephant bull was grazing the open crests, giving my guests and me the perfect opportunity to soak it all in.
A quintessential scene, a large African Fish eagle leaps into flight on a chilly autumn- morning!
Following closely behind a pack of wild dogs, these three hyena settled down for the morning, obviously exhausted (as were we) from having to keep up!
The Kambula Pride at its full complement is 18 lions! With cubs of different ages, the five females certainly have their hands full trying to feed all those mouths. Here, ranger Dan Hirschowitz and his guests once again have a front-row seat to the antics of the inquisitive cubs.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
U
Spotted this leopard?
You’ve seen this leopard
82 sightings by Members
A large male giraffe lifts his head and peers off into the undergrowth. What intrigued him I am not quite sure, but we certainly got to admire his impressive height!
There is undoubtedly emotion carried in the eyes of an elephant. Those long eyelashes, not often seen due to how close one needs to be to appreciate them, protect the eyes as this bull fed on some thorny acacia trees.
A beautiful female Citrus Swallowtail butterfly. Another reason this time of year is my favourite. The female is larger than the male and the anterior blue spots of her hindwings have orange on the outer side as opposed to yellow in the male.
I wanted to capture at least one photo during the recent rains, and here 4 Black Storks hunkered down amidst the rains as the river slowly started to rage around them.
Deliberately breaking the symmetry. The golden afternoon light coated the clearing, and these giraffes soaked it all in.
One of two sisters born to the Nhlanguleni Female, both of whom made it to independence, the first intact litter to do so in 7 years.
U
Spotted this leopard?
You’ve seen this leopard
18 sightings by Members
The Ntsevu Males are growing in stature and confidence each day. Hearing their roars from camp, we raced across the river to find them on the open crest in front of Varty camp, eyes fixed north as what we assumed was the Black Dam Male’s distant roars gave away their presence.
An inquisitive zebra wandered closer to our vehicle with a mouth full. The unique markings of these equines are mesmerising.
[ad_2]
Keagan Chasenski
Source link
